cfj - front hand spring
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8/3/2019 CFJ - Front Hand Spring
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CrossFit Journal Article Reprint. First Published in CrossFit Journal Issue 52 - December 2006
The Front HandspringRoger Harrell
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A front handspring is a common gymnastics skill that is
often demonstrated outside competitive gymnastics as
well. There is an appeal to being able to run forward,
kick through a handstand and spring back to your feet.
It has also found application in the upper levels of othersports such as a handspring throw-in on the soccer
field. While less intimidating and safer to learn than a
back handspring, a front handspring is far more difficult
to perform correctly.
Performing a correct front handspring requires you to
override several natural reactions during the course
of the skill. It also requires a strong kick accompanied
by a strong push with the opposite leg. Good shoulder
flexibil ity is necessary to optimize push off the floor and
allow for efficient positioning.
There are two prerequisites to a front handspring. You
must be able to do both a decent hurdle and a solid kickto handstand. The kick to handstand should go straight
to the handstand with proper shoulder extension.
Preliminary drills
The first stage in learning a front handspring is to learn
how to override your natural inclination to tuck forward
when rotating forward. Since a handspring is led by the
heels, virtually everyone who tries a front handspring
will want to tuck forward.
This drill for this stage requires substantial matting.
A minimum of a good 8-inch training mat is needed.
Start by kicking to handstand on one side of the mat.
From the handstand, fall flat onto your back on the mat.
Ensure proper body alignment during this drill: your
shoulders should be completely pressed open and you
will be in a slight arch. Squeeze your heels together and
keep your butt tight. Watch your hands the whole time.
Your entire body should contact the mat simultaneously.
Allowing your heels to contact the mat slightly ahead of
the rest of your body is acceptable. If any other part ofyour body contacts the mat first it is an indication that
you rounded your back, piked, or broke your shoulder
angle, all of which are severely detrimental to a good
handspring. Finish the drill lying on the mat with your
arms still by your ears
and your head tilted
slightly back looking at
your hands.
Concurrent with the handstand fall drills, you should
practice blocking drills. The propulsion off the floor in
a handspring comes from an aggressive block through
your shoulders, not a push with your arms. Start ina lunge and kick to handstand, reaching forward as
you kick up. Your shoulder angle must remain open
throughout; do not reach down to the floor with your
hands. Bring your hands to the f loor by kicking your rear
leg up. The line from your wrists to your rear leg should
remain straight. Just after your second foot leaves the
ground block through your shoulders and bounce into
a handstand. Snap your feet together aggressively as
quickly as possible after the kick and try to push your
shoulders open for the block. As your block becomes
more dynamic, increase the difficulty by setting up a
single panel of a 1-inch
mat to block up onto.Continue to increase
the height as you are
capable.
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The Front Handspring(continued...)
Bridges are another key factor in a good front handspring,
and youll need to practice them regularly. In a supine
position, raise your elbows toward the ceiling, place
your hands on the floor by your ears, bend your legs,
and then push your hips toward the ceiling and arch
back. Ideally a bridge should have straight legs and
shoulders pushed out over the hands. When you do
bridges, push out over your hands so the stretch occurs
in your shoulders. An increase in shoulder flexibility will
make significant differences in your handsprings.
A front handspring is a relatively easy skill to spot. The
gymnast should begin about three large steps away from
the spotter, to the spotters left. The spotter kneels
on the floor. The gymnast takes one step and hurdles
into a front handspring. The gymnast should place his
hands on the floor about one foot before the spotters
position. As the gymnast kicks into the handspring the
spotter places his right hand on the gymnasts mid-backwhile simultaneously grasping the gymnasts right wrist
with his left hand. The wrist grab must be done with the
left hand supinated.
Step-by-step mechanics
Be sure to work through the progressions. You will
progress much further by insuring proper technique
and practicing the drills than just trying to throw the
skill. Keep in mind that a handspring is a lead-in skill, so
it not only needs to complete, but should actually build
momentum for subsequent skills.
Approach
The approach to a handspring is a good hurdle. (The
hurdle is covered in detail in issue 51 of the CrossFit
Journal.) You need to do a low, long, stretched hurdle
and focus on reaching forward into the handspring,
taking care not to dive into it. Your shoulder angle
should not break, but your hands must touch the ground
before your second foot leaves the ground. Stretch into
an aggressive kick toward the ceiling, as if into a tall
extended handstand.
The spotter should take care to keep close to the gymnast so that he can use his body toassist in the spot. The spotters right arm should remain fully bent with his hand very closeto his right shoulder and elbow down. The spotter should ensure that the gymnast remains
arched throughout the handspring, with shoulders completely open. For now, the gymnast
should land looking at the ceiling.
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The Front Handspring(continued...)
Block
As you practice handsprings, focus on pushing your
arms up and back as you block off the floor. This is
another counterintuitive aspect of the handspring and
requires conscious effort to accomplish. Block off the
floor aggressively and rapidly. Push completely through
your fingertips as you leave the floor. Do not lift your
hands off the f loor, push the floor away from your hands.
From the kick and through the block, drive your heels
aggressively through the handstand.
Landing
After the block, continue to drive your heels to pull
them back underneath you. Your handspring should land
on the balls of your feet with your feet behind you, and
your body in a slight arch. If you get enough block and
maintain proper positions you will feel a spring forward
as you land, almost forcing you to run, jump or fall
forward. This forward momentum will later be used for
another handspring, front tuck or other front tumblingskill. Your head will be neutral, but your shoulders will
remain completely open. You should be as stretched
as possible through your upper back and shoulders.
Remember that your head and hands will be the last
things to reach vertical.
Common mistakes and corrections
Sitting up is by far the most common mistake in a
front handspring. Virtually everyone will have this
problem at first. Even when proper progressions
are followed, staying open must be emphasized
constantly, and in some cases additional drills arerequired. To help develop a feel for the proper
position coming out of a front handspring, stand
about 2 to 3 feet from a wall with your back toward
the wall. Reach straight up and look up at your
hands, then arch back and place both hands on the
wall. Now push back on the wall while squeezing
your butt and pushing your hips forward. Make sure
you press your shoulders open and let your hips
pull you forward. Under no circumstance are you
to pike, or sit forward to pull away from the wall.
Doing this drill properly this will help reinforce the
proper position of the handspring. This same drill
can be done with a coach standing in and substitutingfor the wall. The coach just stands behind the
gymnast and catches his hands as he reaches back.
1.
Hand spotting the skill can also help to reinforce
proper positioning. A spotter can place pressure
on the upper back and anchor one hand back so
that the gymnast cannot sit up immediately out
of the handspring. The earlier this habit is broken
the better. If allowed for too long this can have a
negative impact on front tumbling for a very long
time.
Another very common mistake is to reach down
to the ground when kicking into the handspring.
By reaching for the ground the shoulder angle is
broken. This causes the shoulders to proceed in
front of the hands and severely compromises the
block. Stretch forward in the lunge to prevent this
from occurring. Your hands are brought to the
floor by your rear leg kick, not by reaching down
to the floor. Really focus on a completely open,
stretched body, kicking to a tall handstand for the
handspring.
The converse of reaching to the floor is divinginto the handspring, which you need to avoid. This
occurs when your second leg leaves the floor before
your hands contact the floor. A significant loss of
power will be experienced as a result of diving into
the handspring. Ensure that your hands contact
the floor just before your second foot leaves the
ground.
Many gymnasts will bend their legs as they kick into
the handspring. This is the result of an effort to
get through the skill quickly. While the kick needs
to be fast and aggressive, the kick also needs to
be extended. Thinking about kicking through thetallest handstand you can manage will help to
ensure a straight leg kick.
Connecting handsprings
Once you are consistently making handsprings
with proper positioning, you can start working on
connecting two handsprings together. This can be done
two ways: a handspring step-out to another handspring
or a handspring-flyspring. A flyspring, or bounder, is a
handspring that takes off from two feet.
Start working on handspringstep-outhandspring. Be
sure not to rush into the second handspring. Instead,
focus on performing your first handspring well. If the
first handspring is strong, adding a second handspring
is not difficult. For a handspring step-out just keep
2.
3.
4.
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The Front Handspring(continued...)
driving your kicking leg through the handspring and do
not bring your legs together. You will land on one leg
with your other leg extended in front of you. Ideally you
should land with your rear leg well behind you so that
the landing drives right into the lunge for the second
handspring. Initially you will find that you land leaning
a bit back and youll have to push hard into the second
handspring. This is due to insuf ficient block and turnover.As your handsprings get stronger, this transition will
become effortless.
Good block and turnover are essential for a strong
handspring flyspring. If the first handspring does not
turn over sufficiently, the punch will go up instead of
forward. You must land your first handspring with your
feet well behind you in order to perform a powerful
handspring flyspring. A very common mistake is to let
the first handspring degrade by reaching forward and
piking to try and initiate the second handspring. This
is counterproductive. Be sure to focus on performing
the first handspring well. If the first handspring issolid, it will be much easier to make the flyspring. It is
recommended to develop a strong handspring flyspring
before working handspring-front tucks, as working the
handspring-front tuck will encourage too much flight
after the first handspring and it is difficult to turn over
sufficiently once this habit has been developed.
Keep a focus on technique and proper body positions
and your handsprings can progress rapidly. Resist the
temptation to short cut the drills and rush the front
handspring. Proper mechanics will make a handspring
effortless, while improper mechanics will result in a
squatted dead-end handspring regardless of the power
put into it.
Roger Harrell is a former competitive gymnast
with twenty years of experience in the sport.
He has continued to train in the sport well
beyond his competitive years. He has run several
competitive gymnastics training programs and
currently focuses on coaching adults and bringing
the benefits of gymnastics to those outside theusual community. He is the developer, designer,
and webmaster ofwww.DrillsAndSkills.com.
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